Preserve core values of Lunar New Year

To the people of Chinese descent, the Lunar New Year is undoubtedly the most important festival of the year. Dating back 3000 years, it celebrates the passing of a peaceful year and to welcome a new one.

　　The reunion dinner, eaten on New Year's Eve, was de rigueur, with members of the extended family gathering for the most significant meal of the year. Even the absentee members would endeavour to return home in time for it.

　　It underscores the supreme importance of the family in Chinese culture, and aimed at strengthening the sense of togetherness and cohesion.

　　However, with rapid economic expansion and growing westernisation in Singapore, over time, there has been a noticeable erosion, if not abandonment, of the New Year traditions and customs, which are perceived to be out of step with modern lifestyle.

　　How was the New Year celebrated 30 years ago？ Two quintessential elements, which were deemed its core values, stood out.

　　First, the elaborate multi-generation reunion dinner eaten leisurely at home was the norm. The unenviable task of preparing it would inevitably fall on the women folks, assisted by their domestic help for those who could afford them.

　　Secondly, visiting relatives and close friends was another time-honoured custom that was undertaken cheerfully, and reciprocated enthusiastically too, as a thoughtful way of affirming the ties of kinship and friendship.

　　How do we celebrate it today？

　　Increasingly, more Chinese Singaporeans would hold their reunion dinner in posh restaurants, despite the exorbitant costs. They find it more enjoyable and physically less demanding.

　　Going away during the New Year is now commonplace, sometimes involving whole families or extended families. In extreme cases, some would even seek temporary refuge in a local hotel so as to avoid being visited by relatives and friends, or having to visit them.

　　They consider this tradition an anachronism as these social calls can easily be made anytime outside the festival.

　　How do the more tradition-minded Chinese Singaporeans view these changing trends？ They would firmly disapprove if their family members went away on this occasion. They regard the reunion dinner and visiting relatives and close friends during the New Year as core values, without which it would lose much of its significance.

　　Will the Lunar New Year survive modern living and competing influences in Singapore？ Some pessimists contend that it would gradually lose its sanctity and degenerate into a commercial festival like Christmas has become worldwide, except to the Christians.

　　This is because, with smaller families, more wealth and less leisure time,the New Year celebrations could be conveniently telescoped into three components： the nuclear family reunion dinner, giving of hong bao and eating yu sheng （raw fish）。

　　Despite these misgivings, I believe that, as long as the majority of Chinese Singaporeans consider it a necessary part of their life, which I think they do, it will continue to flourish here, even though the modes of celebrating it may differ somewhat from traditions.

　　My optimism is buttressed by the experiences shown by the Chinese communities overseas, be it Yokohama, New York or London, where the New Year spirit is still very much alive, notwithstanding their entirely different social and cultural environments.

　　What I would like retained are family and kinship ties and attendant values like respect for one's parents and elders. Without these, the New Year celebration will become a soulless commercial happening and devoid of meaning.

　　To make it more relevant to the younger generation, it should come across not merely as a solemn obligation, but also as an occasion of great rejoicing and fellowship like Christmas.

　　While the Chinese clan associations and the Government have done much to stir up more awareness of it as an essential part of Chinese Singaporeans' heritage, it is the individual family that will ultimately determine whether its intrinsic values are worth preserving.

　　If they do desire their preservation, then it is imperative that they must, by example and action, strive to uphold these time-tested values, as encapsulated in the New Year spirit, against any corrosive influences constantly.

　　（The writer is a retired lawyer.）

　　保存农历新年核心价值观

　　蓝秉湖

　　对于华人来说,农历新年无疑是全年最重要的喜庆节日。这个华人传统源自大约3000年前,它代表着旧的一年平安过去了,人们准备大事庆祝和迎接新的一年。

　　除夕夜的团圆饭是整个年头里意义的一餐。所有大家庭的成员都会聚集一堂,远在他乡的也会尽量赶回来。

　　对于华人来说,除夕夜的团圆饭是整个年头里意义的一餐。

　　团圆饭显示了家庭在华族文化里的重要地位。它可以加强凝聚力和家庭成员们团结一心的感觉。

　　然而,随着国家经济的蓬勃发展,西方文化影响的日益普及,一些人逐渐不再重视,甚至开始抛弃新年的传统。在他们眼里,这些风俗习惯和现代化生活方式,完全格格不入。

　　在30年前,人们如何庆祝新年？我认为,那时候的庆祝方式,体现了两个重要的核心价值观。

　　首先,多代同堂的家庭成员,齐聚家中享受一顿丰盛的团圆饭,是每个人都会遵守的习惯。准备一顿丰富晚餐的工作,当然是落在家中女成员的身上,比较富裕的家庭则可能有佣人帮忙。

　　其次,亲戚朋友之间也会兴高采烈互访。这样的欢庆方式,有助于加强亲情和友情。

　　现在新年景象已经大不如前。越来越多新加坡人,宁愿花一笔钱在高级的餐馆吃团圆饭。他们要舒舒服服在外头享受一餐,不愿在家里大费周章。

　　到国外“避年”也日渐普遍,有时是整个家庭,有时甚至是一个大家庭里的几个小家庭,相约一齐出国。还有一些令人难以置信的例子——有些人甚至住进酒店,避免亲戚朋友造访。

　　他们觉得新年传统已经不合时宜,亲戚朋友随时都可以见面,为什么一定要在新年互访？

　　比较传统的新加坡人,如何看待这些改变呢？他们肯定不会让家人在春节时出国。对他们来说,没有了团圆饭和亲戚朋友互访的习俗和它们所代表的核心价值观,新年将失去意义。

　　在现代化生活和其他种种力量的冲击下,华人新年传统会消失吗？一些悲观的人士认为,新春佳节会逐渐失去本来的意义,变成一个商业性的节日。这就像圣诞节一样,除了基督教徒外,它对很多人来说也只是一个非常商业化的节日。

　　随着小家庭越来越普遍,人们越来越富裕但也越来越少闲暇的时间,新年的庆祝活动可能被浓缩成三个部分：限于核心家庭的团圆饭、派红包和捞鱼生。

　　然而,只要大部分的新加坡人认为新年是不可或缺的节日,我相信新春活动将延续下去,虽然庆祝的形式将和以前不一样。

　　一些外国华人社区的经验,例如横滨、纽约和伦敦,是让我感到乐观的原因。这些地方的华人社区,新春的气氛都依然浓烈。当然,这和它们所处的社会和文化环境有关。

　　华人新年应该保留的价值观,我认为是对家庭和亲属关系的重视,包括对父母和长者的尊敬。没有了这些观念,新年将沦为一个毫无意义的商业化节日。

　　华族团体和政府不时提醒人们,新年是华人文化遗产的重要部分。然而,这些传统值不值得保留,最终将由个别家庭决定。

　　如果答案是肯定的,我们便必须以身作则和言行一致,努力抗衡外来影响,保留我们本身的优良传统。